Thursday, December 08, 2016

New Winter 2016-2017
International Shortwave Broadcast Guide Now Available

Teak
Publishing is pleased to announce the release of the Winter 2016-2017
International Shortwave Broadcast Guide (ISWBG) electronic book by Amazon
bestselling author Gayle Van Horn, W4GVH. This all important semi-annual
information resource is your electronic guide to the world of shortwave radio
listening.

Shortwave
radio listeners are routinely entertained with unique perspectives to events,
music, culture, history, and news from other countries that you won’t see or
hear on your local or national broadcast channels. Shortwave radio broadcast
aren’t restricted by country borders or oceans, and can propagate thousands of
miles, reaching millions of listeners worldwide, in over 300 different
languages and dialects. These worldwide transmissions are monitored on
internationally assigned radio frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz.

There
are even broadcasts from the dark side, transmitted from broadcasters known as
clandestine or clanny stations. Clandestine broadcasters are wrapped in mystery
and intrigue, and they usually exist to bring about some sort of political
change to the country they are targeting. Programming may largely be
half-truths or sometimes even outright lies, but it is essentially propaganda
for their cause.

Listeners
who live in the United States can easily hear shortwave broadcast stations from
Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, New
Zealand, North/South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom,
United States, Vietnam, and many other counties if you have an inexpensive
shortwave radio receiver, and you know when and where to listen!

If
you want to get in on the action, then this Amazon electronic book is your
ticket the travel the world via radio. The ISWBG is our exclusive 24-hour station/frequency
guide to “all” of the known longwave, selected mediumwave and shortwave radio
stations currently broadcasting at time of publication. This unique radio hobby
resource is the “only” radio hobby
publication that has by-hour station schedules that include all language
services, frequencies and world target areas.

New
in this seventh edition of the ISWBG is an Introduction to News and
Entertainment Programming on Shortwave Radio by Spectrum Monitor columnist Fred Waterer; a feature on Online Radio:
The crossroads of old and new technology by former Monitoring Times columnist Loyd Van Horn W4LVH; and comprehensive
radio listeners Crash Course on Shortwave Radio Propagation by Tomas Hood
NW7US, contributing editor to CQ
magazine and Spectrum Monitor
columnist.

There
is also an expanded special feature on Who’s Who in the shortwave radio
spectrum by former Monitoring Times
editor and feature writer Larry Van Horn N5FPW. This story covers services and
frequencies outside the regular broadcast and amateur radio bands, and includes
our new, exclusive Hot HF 1000+ non-broadcast frequency list. The final feature
article in this edition is Getting Started in Shortwave Radio, a primer, by Spectrum Monitor managing editor Ken
Reitz KS4ZR.

Also
new in this edition is increased frequency and station coverage of longwave
broadcasters, selected medium wave broadcast frequencies used by international
broadcasters, and all known international standard time and frequency stations
transmitting worldwide.

The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide
(Winter 2016-2017 edition) is now available for purchase worldwide from
Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2RRXV2. The price for this
latest edition is US$7.99. Since this book is being released internationally,
Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France Spain, Italy, Japan,
India, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia can order this electronic book
(e-Book) from Amazon websites directly servicing these countries. All other
countries can use the regular Amazon.com website.

This
new e-publication edition is a much expanded version of the English shortwave
broadcast guide that was formerly published in the pages of the former Monitoring Times magazine for well over
20 years. This one of a kind e-book is published twice a year to correspond
with shortwave station’s seasonal time and frequency changes.

Don’t own a Kindle reader from Amazon? Not a
problem. You do not need to own a Kindle to read Amazon e-book publications.
You can read any Kindle book with Amazon’s free reading apps on literally any
electronic media platform.

The Kindle app is available for most major
smartphones, tablets and computers. There is a Kindle app available for the
iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch; Android Phone; Android Tablet; PC; Windows 8; Mac
Kindle Cloud Reader; Windows Phone; Samsung; BlackBerry 10; BlackBerry; amd
WebOS. This means with a free Kindle reading apps, you can buy a Kindle book
once, and read it on any device with the Kindle app installed*. You can also
read that same Kindle book on a Kindle device if you own one.

The
International Shortwave Broadcast Guide will have wide appeal to shortwave
radio hobbyists, amateur radio operators, educators, foreign language students,
news agencies, news buffs, or anyone interested in listening to a global view
of news and major events as they happen.

Whether
you are an amateur radio operator or shortwave radio enthusiasts, and want to
get in on the action outside of the ham bands, then this new electronic book
from Teak Publishing is a must in your radio reference library.

-30-

Here are some of the public comments from
radio hobbyists who purchased previous editions of the International Shortwave Broadcast Guide Amazon e-book.

VERY Useful Guide! By Dave in Ohio

Being rather new to
the SW DXing, I needed a guide. Most of them were pretty pricey so I decided to
give this one a try. When it arrived, I didn't have a lot of time to review it,
just glanced at it and was a little upset. I had expected something with page
after page of countries with their frequency listings, much like other guides
I'd heard about. This one seemed to have a lot of articles about SWL and only
in the back did I find frequency listings. But the next day I had about an hour
to sit and review the book on my Kindle and I discovered how clever Ms. Van
Horn had been in her formatting. I realized that the last thing I needed was
just a list of frequencies. The gem of the book is the section that divides the
day into UTC hours and what frequency in which country is likely to be on the
air at that time. After all, what good does it do me to know that Radio
Slobovia broadcasts on 1305 if I have no idea of when to listen for them? (The
book also contains a long listing by frequency for identifying those broadcasts
that you stumble upon.) I've looked around the articles towards the beginning
of the book and the ones I've read are well written and interesting. I strongly
recommend that the new readers of Ms. Van Horn's guide use the table of
contents to skip around and become familiar with the format. Very useful book
at a good price. Ms. Van Horn has herself a new fan )

Essential reference
for SWLsBy
Hundedrek

Gayle knows
international SW like few others. She used to write a monthly column and
directory in the late, lamented Monitoring Times mag. A big reason why I I
subbed to it for years. This guide continues the tradition. The Kindle version
is more convenient to use. Now that so many international broadcasters are
streaming their programming, Gayle's guide is even more valuable.

Gayle does us a great
service by publishing this Shortwave Radio GuideBy
Tampa

A needed re hash of
previous books. Gayle does us a great service by publishing this Shortwave
Guide. Many on ships have stopped using short wave as they do not have radio
distribution systems for the crews as Satellite takes over. Many ships have
wired hanging out of portholes as a result and all kinds of antennas stuck
around the ships creating hazards so they can listen to their home countries.
CBC has shut down Radio Canada to save money OMG #Stupid. Clandestine Radio is
on the Rise and this book lists and explains. That in itself is interesting. Should
be of interest to any #SWL or #HamRadio people.

Shortwave
LIVES!!!!!!
By Walter C. Thurman

The
Van Horns are shining stars in the Shortwave Radio and MilComms World.... this
read is helpful for us DIE HARD shortwave listener's and Ham Radio folks alike.
THANK FOR WHAT YOU GUYS DO!!!!! N0RDC

Great Useful (and
highly affordable) Data For SWLs By Randy S.

Gayle's monthly Monitoring
Times roundup of shortwave broadcast schedules was always tremendously
useful. With the demise of the magazine itself it's nice to see that her
massive database (and the years of work on it) aren't going to waste. And at
the price (less than the cost of a monthly issue of the magazine) it makes for
a fine bargain and is well worth it for shortwave-broadcast listeners with
e-reader capability. The twice- yearly updates will keep the project relevant
and useful.

Solid for HF
listening! By
Mr geocacher

Very useful for
identifying what you hear on HF. Lot's of good tidbits for listening hints too.

Shortwave Broadcast
Guide by
Kindle Customer

Since Monitoring
Times is no longer in publication, this guide is required for the
dedicated shortwave listener. There is information provided that I have found
no where else. It will be a welcome addition to any listener's equipment. Gayle
Van Horn has been publishing this research for many years and the followers are
numerous, from beginners to professionals. The author's work is accurate,
concise and thorough. If you have a shortwave radio, you need this publication
as much as a set of earphones. There is none better.

Very Good Source for
Shortwave Stations Broadcast Schedules by Kenneth Windyka

I've got to admit up
front that I don't have a strong interest in this part of the hobby. HOWEVER,
Gayle Van Horn makes it easy to determine what one can hear on the short wave
bands during a particular time period (in GMT time sorted format). I also like
the internet reference available, so that one can listen to programs via the
internet even if its' not possible via the shortwave radio.

NJ Shortwave listener
hears International Frequencies with new guide help by Stanley E
Rozewski, Jr.

This
e-book is complete and accurate in presenting a low cost SW frequency guide and
important must read topics for the new or experienced user. I liked the easy
reading format, and understandable frequency guide. I will order the second
edition next year.

This is my
go-to-first reference
by Mary C Larson

When I turn on the
shortwave receiver and want to find out what's on and where to look, Van Horn's
handy frequency guide is a smart place to begin. The format is not unlike the
one Monitoring Times (R.I.P.) used each month. Presumably, updated ISBGs will
be published twice per year, but you can check for the updates on her blog,
(mt-shortwave.blogspot.com).

Good value by DrP

This is an excellent
well-written book that is very affordable when compared to encyclopedic guides,
e.g., the WRTH. Much the same information is included. The first part is
a nice introduction to SW listening pitched to the beginner. Included is an
informative section on purchasing a radio spanning low-end <$100 models up
through the most advanced transceivers. The bulk of the book contains a list of
world-wide SW broadcasters, organized by frequency band. This makes it ideal
for browsing one band at a time, but much less so if you want to search for
broadcasts from a particular country.

I like this one by Charles

I have only had a
brief chance to scan through this book. From what I have seen of it I will
enjoy getting in to it.

Excellent Shortwave
Introduction and Program Guide by Don K3PRN

Excellent, very reasonable
guide to shortwave radio. As a long time shortwave listener, the listing of all
shortwave stations by UTC time is very useful to me. I had previously a
shortwave website that listed only English broadcasts rather than an all
station listing with the language that will be broadcast. I would highly
recommend this e book for all new shortwave listeners and those that interested
in a very portable listing of all stations by UTC. I only hope that this will
be updated twice a year for many more years.

Good Product by
Radio Freq

Since Monitoring Times stopped
publishing shortwave radio schedules, there has been a dearth of resources for
radio-heads. This guide nicely fulfills gap. It is very comprehensive.

It is nice someone is
dedicated to SWL
by Robert K. Mallory

Very concise and well
organized. Not much to choose from these days, it is nice someone is dedicated
to Shortwave Radio Listening.

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Blog Editor Note: This feature and more will be available in the new International Shortwave Broadcast Guide Winter 2016-2017 e-Book that will be released in the next few days on Amazon. Watch this site for an announcement of availability.

Story by Larry Van Horn, N5FPW

Most shortwave radio enthusiasts have heard of digital broadcast mode Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). DRM is a set of standards designed by a European consortium, and most commonly used for digital audio broadcasting and it is the only digital HF broadcasting mode authorized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) here in the United States.

DRM transmissions sporadically appear on the various broadcast bands and offer the listener high quality broadcast audio if the signal is strong enough for reception. There are also text stream, and other data sub-channels that can be imbedded in a DRM transmission streams.

For all the usual reasons, DRM has never caught on in North America. Among other problems, changing market forces had killed off most or all of the DRM-ready transmitting sites capable of a 12 dB signal to noise ratio to DRM capable receivers.

Recently while tuning outside the international shortwave broadcast bands, a Mojave Desert, California, DX’er nicknamed Token, came across some DRM transmissions on 5200 and 8000 kHz. The signals he monitored were using the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) in a tight waveform fitting the 10-kHz broadcast channel.

When he started decoding the DRM transmission what he found was not an voice audio broadcast, but instead a data sub-channel which identified itself as “USCG Journaline.” Journaline is a trademark of Fraunhofer IIS, in Germany. It’s a hierarchical data mode, using a “Journaline Markup Language” based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language). This is sent in one or more DRM data channels. It also works in DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting). It is currently being used by several broadcasters, including BBC and Deutsche Welle, for “multicast” information such as news stories and weather maps. While not interactive, it does give the user menus of data “objects” available for viewing. It somewhat resembles a very streamlined and compacted one-way version of what web browsers do.

Some quick research, by Token and Hugh Stegman, The Spectrum Monitor e-zine Utility Planet columnist, turned up that indeed, the U.S. Coast Guard was responsible for these DRM Journaline broadcasts.

COMMSTA Kodiak (Courtesy of USCG 17th District Blog)

Subsequent research by the pair found the following U.S. government website entry: “The United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center has a requirement to procure, install and provide technical support for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) with High Frequency (HF) for testing in New London, CT and Kodiak AK.”

“Later amendments specify that the DRM equipment must work with existing (and nonlinear) HF transmitters by Rockwell Collins. The transmitting antenna must be the existing TCI 530. The receive antenna must be “suitable for installation on a medium-sized vessel (100-250 ft).” Another source, Doug Irwin in Radiomagonline, has the following information: “The USCG is very interested in testing the propagation characteristics of using DRM with High Frequency as a means to broadcast digital data for its ongoing project in the Northwest Passage. If successful, the USCG will investigate using the system to enhance existing means of distributing digital maritime safety information in the far north of the U.S.”

The Arctic region in recent years has become navigable in summer, and for the first time the fabled “Northwest Passage” actually exists as a shipping route. International groups have created new world navigation areas (NAVAREAs) for this region. The USCG has a number of testing programs regarding safety on this new frontier. Among other issues, these latitudes are a bit far north for geostationary satellites stationed in the “Clarke Belt.” That’s one of the reasons why we keep seeing interest in HF. The USCG became interested after a contractor called RFMondial reported the success of a similar system used by the German Navy. This one, according to the same source, “explored how to use encrypted data transmission for maritime broadcasting of information and entertainment to ships at sea.”

Utility DX Forum member Brendan Wahl WA7HL, a former U.S. Coast Guard radioman, dug further into the story by contacting the project office directly and passes along the following information regarding this new DRM service that the US Coast Guard is testing.

“The Next Generation Arctic Navigational Safety Information System (ANSIS) project is an ongoing U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center (RDC) project that is attempting to meet the challenge of disseminating Maritime Safety Information in the Arctic.

“I had a conference call on November 21, 2016, with the good folks at R&D to go over what can be offered by the monitoring community and me to their experiment. They are quite interested in reports that are as detailed as possible. I am running the DReaM software here and using DRMPlot to produce graphs of my logs, and they like those graphs very much!”

Officials associated with the project told Brendan, "For a variety of reasons we ended up with DRM over HF. It is where the data rate would allow transmission of detailed weather, ice edge, and notice to mariner's information, as well as electronic chart updates. A one year field test is being conducted in Alaska. We completed installation during the week of October 23, 2016. We have been working with RFMondial and Fraunhofer. We are transmitting (at around 800 watts) from Kodiak and our receive equipment is in Cordova (shore side and aboard the buoy tender). We have 10 authorized frequencies to use between 2.45 and 29.9 MHz. But have reduced them to the six lowest frequencies.

"Initial research indicates that lower frequencies are best, so we came up with a schedule for these transmissions. The test will go for one year, so we may change this schedule at some point to maximize reception."

Brendan further asked about the antenna system and they confirmed that they are using a TCI 530 antenna (omnidirectional and NVIS).

He also addressed to the Coast Guard the frequencies being used for the test since two of them are in broadcast bands and he relayed his concerns about directly adjacent and on-frequency interference from much higher powered broadcasters.

The project office said that the frequencies may or may not change, as it was apparently difficult to arrange what they did get allocated. Currently they are 2450, 5200, 6850, 8000, 9900, and 12100 kilohertz (kHz) with three more inactive higher frequencies in reserve. The transmission site is located in Kodiak, Alaska, (Coast Guard call sign NOJ) and it is the only transmitter site for this experiment at present. The precise location of the station is at 57.778455N, 152.526588W.

Brendan also received a current schedule of dates/times/frequencies for these broadcasts for the next year and we have included that information below. The broadcasts are on 24 hours a day and last until the next frequency change in the schedule. Reception reports may be emailed directly to the R&D Center in New London at the following email address: drminfo@uscg.mil.

If anyone has any questions, you can contact Brendan via the UDXF group and feel free to contact him there and he will contact members of the group conducting the test to get answers you may have.

We appreciate The Spectrum Monitor, Utility Planet columnist Hugh Stegman, Token in the Mojave, the UDXF newsgroup, and Brendan Wahl, WA7HL, located in Bellingham, Washington, for their assistance in preparing this article.

Friday, December 02, 2016

a reminder to our readers.....this card's last day will be December 31, 2016Radio Free Asia (RFA) announces its 20th anniversary QSL. Bringing free press to closed societies, RFA’s first broadcast was in Mandarin on September 29, 1996 at 2100 UTC. RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Acting as a substitute for indigenous free media, RFA concentrates coverage on events occurring in and/or affecting Burma, Cambodia, Laos, North Korea, the People’s Republic of China, and Vietnam.RFA does not express editorial opinions but provides news, analysis, commentary, and cultural programming in the languages of the country of broadcast. This design is RFA’s 62nd QSL and is used to confirm all valid reception reports from September – December 2016.

Created by Congress in
1994 and incorporated in 1996, RFA broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer,
Korean to North Korea, Lao, Mandarin (including the Wu dialect), Vietnamese,
Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), and Uyghur. RFA strives for accuracy, balance,
and fairness in its editorial content. As a ‘surrogate’ broadcaster, RFA
provides news and commentary specific to each of its target countries, acting
as the free press these countries lack. RFA broadcasts only in local languages
and dialects, and most of its broadcasts comprise news of specific local
interest.More information about Radio
Free Asia, including our current broadcast frequency schedule, is available at www.rfa.org.RFA encourages listeners
to submit reception reports.Reception
reports are valuable to RFA as they help us evaluate the signal strength and
quality of our transmissions. RFA confirms all accurate reception reports by
mailing a QSL card to the listener.RFA
welcomes all reception report submissions at http://techweb.rfa.org (follow the
QSL REPORTS link) not only from DX’ers, but also from its general listening
audience.

Reception reports are also
accepted by email at qsl@rfa.org and by mail to:

Hi All,
As well as the special program about the Danish Shortwave Club International, which has been made by the Rhein Main Radio Club, and is listed for broadcast on 6145 kHz at 2000 UTC on the 17th of December via the Shortwave Service in Germany, and using the 100kW transmitter in Armenia, in this week's episode of Wavescan, Jeff White also said that there would be a number of broadcasts via WRMI too, but will be in two parts rather one. I assume this will be the same one hour program, but broken up into two 30 minute segments instead, and broadcast a week apart.

The times and dates given by Jeff were as follows:
December 3rd 2300 5850.0 kHz Part OneDecember 3rd 2330 11580.0 kHz Part OneDecember 4th 2300 5850.0 kHz Part OneDecember 5th 0230 9955.0 kHz Part One
December 10th 2300 5850.0 kHz Part TwoDecember 10th 2330 11580.0 kHz Part TwoDecember 11th 2030 11580.0 kHz Part TwoDecember 11th 2300 5850.0 kHz Part TwoDecember 12th 0230 9955.0 kHz Part two

On December 6 (December 5 local date in the Americas), our special guest will
be the delightful Cuban violinist Tanmy López Moreno, who in addition to
performing with Interactivo has her own project. We will feature music from her
two albums. We will also play selections from 4/1, an award-winning album by
Cuban concert pianist Fidel Leal. And to add a little something extra, some
vintage Cuban Rock from Los Gafas.

Three options for listening on
shortwave:WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0100-0200 UTC (8pm-9pm EDT Mondays in the
Americas)Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Tuesdays 1900-2000 UTC (2000-2100 CET) and
(NEW) Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET)See the NOTES section of our Facebook page for
instructions for listening online if you are out of range or don’t have a
shortwave radio.(Bill Tilford/Tilford Productions)

Below are specials for December 2016. If you need a current stamp list or supply list, I can mail or email it to you.

FLASH!! I have Christmas forever stamps available, Madonna & Child, for your Christmas mailings...If you'd like these, be sure to mention when ordering from offer listed below. ALSO! I can make up 47c in 2 stamps with Christmas stamps too!! Just mention when you order!

NEWS!!!: European Air Return Envelopes.....SOLD OUT!!! I will NOT be restocking. With lower sales, restocking would be a smaller qty. to purchase at a much higher cost...I will sell the European PLAIN Returns in their place. See special deals below. A few customers are QSL managers and they tell me they rarely see an airmail envelope from overseas anyway, except maybe from JA. My supply of European Air Mailers is greater (about 12,000), so they will last longer. Take advantage of the European Air Mailer close out combo specials while I have them!!! The red & blue airmail border isn't necessary for international mail anymore. All international mail goes by air, renamed First Class International a number of years ago.

MORE NEWS: VENEZUELA has been dropped from stamp list. My Supplier can no longer obtain.

DECEMBER 2016 DX SUPPLY SPECIALS200/200 European Plain Mailers and Plain Returns - $40.00200/200 European Air Mailers and Plain Returns - $40.00European AIR Returns are SOLD OUT!!5 Packs of Extra QSL Album pages - $22.00

DECEMBER 2016 CLOSE OUT SPECIALS500 European Air Mailers - $39.00200/200 Stateside mailers and Returns - $23.00500/500 Stateside Mailers and Returns - $43.00

Priority Mail Shipping Rates: Orders up to $40.00 add $9.00, orders from $41.00 to $100.00 add $15.00. orders from $101.00 to $150.00 add $20.00, orders over $150.00 add 15%. When ordering supplies and stamps, the stamps ride free, just use supply total to figure shipping costs. Shipments to Canada and overseas ship at a greater cost. (07/2015 modified)

Stamps Only Orders: Just add $1.00 P&H for posting to USA, add $2.00 for posting to Canada.

Last week’s
transmission Sunday at 1930-2000 UTC on 15670 kHz again did not reach most of
Europe -- for at least part of the show. See the image
above.

The
Saturday 0930-1000 broadcast on 5865 kHz also did not reach most of Europe.
Please try again this weekend, because we never know when gray-line propagation
will be favorable. This transmission should be audible throughout the Americas
and might also be heard in the Asia-Pacific region.

This
weekend’s VOA Radiogram includes one news item in Olivia 64-2000. This mode
might provide a good decode even in conditions which result in an unsuccessful
decode of our usual MFSK32 mode. Turn off Fldigi’s squelch (SQL) for best
results in Olivia 64-2000.

And to keep
the transmitter hum from mixing with the RSID, resulting in an incorrect center
audio frequency, do this in Fldigi: Configure > IDs > ID > RsID >
unselect (turn off) Searches passband. Set the audio frequency at 1500
Hz. Any self-adjustment of the audio frequency by Fldigi will be no more than
200 Hz.

Here is
the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 192, 3-4 December 2016, all in the
MFSK32 except where noted:

VOA Radiogram
transmission schedule(all days and
times UTC):Sat 0930-1000 5865 kHz (To the Americas, try also in
Asia-Pacific and Europe)Sat 1600-1630 17580 kHz (To Europe, try also
in the Americas and Asia-Pacific) Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz (To the
Americas, try also in Europe)Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz (To Europe, try
also in the Americas and Asia-Pacific)All via the Edward R. Murrow
transmitting station in North Carolina.

Solar activity was at very low levels. The largest flare of the period was at B6 at 22/0010 UTC from Region 2612 (N09, L=194, class/area Hax/230 on 25 November). No Earth-directed CMEs were
observed.
No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was moderate levels on 22-24 November while high levels were reached on
21 and 25-27 November. The largest flux of the period was 25,245 pfu at 27/1625 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions. Enhanced geomagnetic activity was due to recurrent, positive-polarity, coronal hole high speed streams (CH HSS). The period began with solar wind speeds near 330 km/s on 21 November with an increasing total field from approximately 1 nT early in the period to near 12 nT by 22 November and a fluctuating Bz component between +10 nT and -8 nT. Solar wind speed increased, thereafter, to near 510 km/s by 23 November while total field decreased to near 3 nT. Another enhancement in total field was observed late on 23 November to a maximum near 11 nT on 24 November before decreasing to 5 nT by 25 November. Stepped increases in solar wind speed occurred at 24/0514 UTC from 400 km/s to 500 km/s and at 25/0144 UTC from 500 km/s to near 700 km/s. The geomagnetic field responded with quiet to unsettled levels on 21 November, quiet to active levels on 22-23 November, unsettled to G1 (Minor) storm levels on 24 November, unsettled to G2 (Moderate) storm levels on 25 November and quiet to unsettled levels on 26-27 November.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 28 November - 24 December 2016

Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flares for the forecast period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels with high levels likely on 28 November-07 December, 10-18 December and again on 22-24 December due to recurrent CH HSS influence. Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled
levels on 28-30 November as the geomagnetic field recovers from positive polarity CH HSS activity. Unsettled to active levels are expected from 07-11 December and 19-24 December with G1 (Minor)
geomagnetic storm levels likely on 10 and 21-22 December due to recurrent CH HSS effects.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the bearded, cigar-smoking Communist revolutionary who infuriated the United States, inspired both loyalty and loathing from his countrymen and maintained an iron grip on Cuban politics for almost 50 years, died Friday at the age of 90.

Castro, who was the only leader most of his countrymen ever knew, outlasted 11 US presidents since he first took power in 1959.

Castro had been in declining health for years – he continued to spew his anti-American tirades almost until the end.
In October, 2014, Castro reprinted a New York Times editorial in state-run media that argued that the U.S. embargo on Cuba should end. The editorial ran almost verbatim, omitting one line about Cuba’s release of political prisoners.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts:Issued: 2016 Nov 21 0507 UTC# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center# Product description and SWPC contact http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html## Weekly Highlights and Forecasts#Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 14 - 20 November 2016
Solar activity was very low through the period with only a few low-level B-class flares observed from Regions 2610 (N16, L=018, class/area Dao/050 on 17 November), and 2611 (N03, L=291, class/area Cao/020 on 18 November). No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CME) were observed in available satellite imagery during the reporting period. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at high levels throughout the period (14-20 November). The maximum flux of 19,442 pfu was observed at 15/1530 UTC.
Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet to unsettled levels on 14-15 November in response to waning influence from a negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Solar wind speed steadily decreased from a peak of 681 km/s to period ending values below 400 km/s. Total field ranged between 1 and 7 nT while the Bz component reached a maximum southward deviation of -6 nT. Quiet conditions were observed on 16-20 November under an ambient solar wind environment. Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 21 November - 17 December 2016
Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flares over the forecast period. No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels with high levels likely on 22 November - 07 December, and 10-17 December due to recurrent CH HSS influence.
Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 21-29 November and 07-11 December, with G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels likely on 22-24 November, due to recurrent CH HSS effects.